For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from the condemners of his soul.
Parallel translations
- WEB For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul.
- KJV For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
- ESV For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.
- NKJV For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, To save him from those who condemn him.
- NASB For He stands at the right hand of the needy, To save him from those who judge his soul.
- NLT For he stands beside the needy, ready to save them from those who condemn them.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David affirms that God stands at the right hand of the needy to save them from unjust judges. The Lord defends the very ones the wicked condemn.
Overview
In striking contrast to the accusing adversary at the wicked man's right hand (v. 6), God Himself stands at the needy person's right hand as defender and savior. This is the psalm's resolving confidence: God champions the poor against their oppressors. It points to Christ, the friend of sinners, who pleads for and rescues His people (Romans 8:34).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 121:5The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is the shade on your right hand.
- Ps 16:8I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
- Ps 73:23Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand.
- Isa 54:17No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
- Ps 110:5The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings in the day of His wrath.
- Ps 140:12I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor and defends the cause of the needy.
- Prov 22:22–23Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,
- Eccl 5:8If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.
- Ps 68:5A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in His holy habitation.
- Ps 72:4May he vindicate the afflicted among the people; may he save the children of the needy and crush the oppressor.
- Ps 72:12–13For he will deliver the needy who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper.
- Ps 10:14But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.
- Ps 109:16For he never thought to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted, even to their death.
- Acts 5:30–31The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree.
- Exod 22:22–24You must not mistreat any widow or orphan.
- Acts 4:10–12then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 109:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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